KABUL – Ferozuddin Feroz, health minister, on Sunday reported 10 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including two in the capital Kabul for the first time, taking the total to 34.
Addressing a press conference, he said three cases have been confirmed in Herat, two in Zabul, two in Kabul, one in Balkh, one in Ghazni and one in Kandahar. With the registration of three new cases in Herat, the minister demanded the city should be locked down considering the outbreak.
The minister said two members of the parliament are also among the suspected cases with the novel virus.
Herat has the highest number of cases in the west of the country due to its border with Iran and the return of hundreds of thousands of immigrants. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 10,000 migrants return to Herat daily from Iran to move onwards to their native provinces.
Minister Ferouz said the number of people infected with the coronavirus would increase dramatically in the coming weeks if the situation persisted. He stressed some cities need to be quarantined. He urged the owners of restaurants, parks, swimming pools, public baths to stop operating.
The health minister also called for urgent measures to control outbreak of the virus in the capital, Kabul. (SW)